Order in Council Details

WHEREAS the Government of Canada has committed to launching an inquiry to identify and examine the systemic causes of violence against Indigenous women and girls in Canada and to make recommendations for effective action;

AND WHEREAS the Government of Nova Scotia is committed to working with Indigenous communities to end the threat of violence against women and families and to ensuring the safety of future generations of Indigenous women;

AND WHEREAS the Government of Nova Scotia is committed to take action to support reconciliation, working in collaboration with Indigenous Peoples based on principles of mutual respect and shared benefits;

AND WHEREAS it is considered desirable and in the public interest for the Nova Scotia Government to jointly establish the National Inquiry with the Government of Canada and the governments of each of the other provinces and territories in order to support the mandate of the commissioners within the province of Nova Scotia;

AND WHEREAS the establishment of a joint commission of inquiry would make it possible to generate a broader portrait of the issues involved and to identify concrete and sustainable actions that could contribute to preventing and eliminating violence against Indigenous women and girls;

AND WHEREAS it is expedient to entrust to the commission of inquiry appointed by the Government of Canada the mandate to carry out its work in matters of Nova Scotia’s jurisdiction in accordance with the Public Inquiries Act; and

AND WHEREAS the Government of Canada has undertaken to pay all costs incurred with respect to the commission of inquiry;

NOW THEREFORE the Governor in Council on the report and recommendation of the President of the Executive Council dated August 25, 2016, and pursuant to Sections 2 and 3 of Chapter 372 of the Revised Statutes of Nova Scotia, 1989, the Public Inquiries Act, is pleased, effective September 1, 2016, to:

(1) establish a commission of inquiry, jointly with the Government of Canada and the Governments of all provinces and territories that establish an equivalent commission of inquiry, to conduct an inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in Canada, pursuant to the Terms of Reference attached hereto as Schedule ‘A” with the following mandate:

· to inquire into and report on the systemic causes of all forms of violence including sexual violence against Indigenous women and girls in Canada, including underlying social, economic, cultural, institutional and historical causes contributing to the ongoing violence and particular vulnerabilities of Indigenous women and girls in Canada;

· to inquire into and report on institutional policies and practices implemented in response to violence experienced by Indigenous women and girls in Canada, including the identification and examination of practices that have been effective in reducing violence and increasing safety;

· to make recommendations with respect to concrete and effective action that can be taken to remove systemic causes of violence and to increase the safety of Indigenous women and girls in Canada; and

· to make recommendations with respect to ways to honour and commemorate the missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in Canada;

(2) to appoint the following persons as commissioners:

· Michéle Audette, Commissioner

· Qajaq Robinson, Commissioner

· Marilyn Poitras, Commissioner

· Brian Eyolfson, Commissioner

· the Honourable Marion Buller, Chief Commissioner;

(3) to authorize the joint commission to exercise in Nova Scotia those provincial powers that are ancillary or incidental to their powers as provided to them by the Inquiries Act (Canada) and by the Terms of Reference established under that Act;

(4) to deliver the commission’s interim report to the Attorney General and Minister of Justice of Nova Scotia on November 1, 2017; and

(5) to deliver the commission’s final report to the Attorney General and Minister of Justice of Nova Scotia on November 1, 2018.